Environment

India fired two Nuclear Capable Ballistic Missile in the last Week February 8, 2018
India Test Fires Second Nuclear Capable Ballistic Missile in a Week, The nuclear capable Prithvi-II missile was test fired on February 7. The Diplomat, By Franz-Stefan GadyFebruary 09, 2018
For the second time in just a week, India’s Strategic Forces Command (SFC) has test launched a short-range nuclear capable ballistic missile as part of its annual training cycle to test the combat readiness of the Indian Army’s missile forces.
The Prithvi-II tactical surface-to-surface short-range ballistic missile was test fired from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) on Dr. Abdul Kalam Island in the Bay of Bengal off the coast of Odisha on February 7, according to defense sources speaking to local media………
The February 7 missile test follows the test firing of an Agni-I short-range nuclear capable ballistic missile on February 6. According ... Read More

Scotland’s a dump February 8, 2018I saw this one at the weekend and showed it to a friend in England who is a bit of an environment info hub and even he was a little shocked by the extent of it.
In my house, I’m sure like many of your own, we make a real effort to try to recycle as much as we can and make a real effort to reduce our carbon footprint. It’s maybe not much, and I accept we have cars, one is a smart with virtually zero omissions and the other sits parked most of the week. We’re not great, but we try to do what we can and again like many we do get annoyed with packaging, rubbish being dumped, and ... Read More

Putting our money where our mouth is! Announcing the first EWT owned and managed nature reserve February 6, 2018The Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT), Africa’s conservation leader, is proud to announce the transfer of the Medike Nature Reserve in Limpopo, into the EWT’s name, as its first ever land purchase. Medike comprises some 1,400 ha of priority and unique mountain habitat in the Soutpansberg Mountains, and was bought through the generosity of the Roberts Family Trust in Australia. This is the first step in a long-term project to realise the dream of establishing the Soutpansberg Protected Area (SPA), which will ultimately span in excess of 23,000 ha and will connect the existing Happy Rest Nature Reserve in the east and Luvhondo Private Nature Reserve in the west.
This special place is South Africa’s most northern mountain range, and is home ... Read More

Team Kaavan’s #RumbleForRights for Elephants February 3, 2018Currently in Pakistan there is an elephant named Kaavan. For the past three decades, since he was a baby of between one and two years old, he has been held in conditions not fitting for any being. Considered property, he was a diplomatic gift from the Sri Lankan government to the Pakistan government in 1985. Many people are aware of Kaavan and his story of being tightly chained almost his entire life in deplorable conditions in the Islamabad Zoo.
Thanks to the hard work of many people around the world, there has been a tremendous amount of activity to get his story into the public spotlight. It is in large part because of social media pressure alerting Pakistani senators, and no less ... Read More

Climate risks weigh heavily upon business elite February 2, 2018As the World Economic Forum met in Davos last month, the world’s economic leadership thinks environmental disasters and climate-related impacts are the biggest risks to global business in 2018.
The 2017 Atlantic hurricane season inflicted losses of more than USD 200 billion. Photo credit: Michelle Maria.
Global business and political leaders have said extreme weather events would likely pose the greatest threat to business and commerce in 2018, which marks a major departure from what they thought even 10 years ago when economic factors such as asset price collapses and oil and gas price hikes were perceived as major risks.
For the second year running, the economic leadership has rated extreme weather as the world’s biggest threat, according to the Global Risks Report ... Read More

Coastal ecosystems severely under threat due to climate change February 2, 2018
The narrow zones of the world where the land meets the sea hosts some of the most diverse ecosystems in the world. Coastal wetlands, estuaries, backwaters, deltas, lagoons, reefs, bays all come under a broad term called coastal ecosystems. Together, they add up to 1.6 million kilometers. of coastline. Each one is unique, but has certain common factors:
These ecosystems are very, very beneficial to all forms of life, including humans.
These ecosystems are very, very sensitive to environmental changes.
Thus, they are very, very vulnerable to external stresses.
The coastal ecosystems today are threatened by two main forces; climate change and human activities. In this post, I’m going to take a look at the major influences that climate change has/will have on ... Read More

The Endangered Wildlife Trust responds to the latest report on rhino poaching figures February 2, 2018The Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) appreciates the recent statement by Minister Edna Molewa on the latest rhino poaching figures, and is pleased to note the reported decline in rhinos illegally killed, from 1,054 in 2016 to 1,028 in 2017. We applaud all those who have worked tirelessly to protect our rhinos. However, we remain concerned about the very high poaching rate and what this means for the future of rhinos in South Africa. The EWT is committed to continuing to work with the Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) and other stakeholders to save our rhinos from the scourge of poaching.
Noteworthy is the reference in the Minister’s report to the collaboration between the various Justice, Crime Prevention and Security Cluster departments. ... Read More

Serengeti faces yet another silent but deadly poaching threat February 1, 2018A report by the Environmental Investigation Agency has exposed that Chinese-led criminal gangs have been conspiring with corrupt Tanzanian officials to traffic huge amounts of ivory.
The illicit trade dubbed one of the most serious environmental crimes of the decade has led over a half of Tanzania’s elephants to be poached in the past five yearsS
ilent, but deadly Poaching .As if that is not enough, the probably forgotten, silent but deadly bush meat poaching within Serengeti Park is now putting the world’s greatest annual wildlife migration across East Africa’s plains under new threat.
The planet’s largest wildlife migration — the annual loop of two million wildebeest and other mammals across the Tanzania’s legendary national park of Serengeti and Kenya’s renowned Maasai Mara ... Read More

THREE PAID “GUIDES” POSE NEXT TO THEIR MURDER VICTIM, A GENTLE, ENDANGERED ELEPHANT December 8, 2017THREE PAID “GUIDES” POSE NEXT TO THEIR MURDER VICTIM, A GENTLE, ENDANGERED ELEPHANT…
employed by the two rich white men there, that murdered him, and smugly stare into the camera…this barbarity is actually “legal” and it costs the killers thousands of dollars…and although Trump
backed off on lifting the ban on elephant trophies being imported, they are still being murdered…these sick serial killers can still travel to Africa to kill the innocent…please, sign and share the petitions
below to help protect elephants and lions the animal murderers…the mentally deranged being celebrated, while they are smiling next to their kill, shows a world, in decline….these criminally insane
zoosadists are claiming murdering animals is “conservation”….humans are the real invasive and nuisance species here…KILLER “CONSERVATIONISTS” THAT HUNT, ... Read More

The significance of Antarctica as the world warms December 7, 2017Why remote Antarctica is so important in a warming world The Conversation.December 4, 2017 Chris Fogwill, Professor of Glaciology and Palaeoclimatology, Keele University, Chris Turney, Professor of Earth Sciences and Climate Change, UNSW, Zoe Robinson, Reader in Physical Geography and Sustainability/Director of Education for Sustainability, Keele University
“……..What was once thought to be a largely unchanging mass of snow and ice is anything but. Antarctica holds a staggering amount of water. The three ice sheets that cover the continent contain around 70% of our planet’s fresh water, all of which we now know to be vulnerable to warming air and oceans. If all the ice sheets were to melt, Antarctica would raise global sea levels by at least 56m.
Where, when, and how quickly they might melt is a ... Read More